Alfredo Di Stefano - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays Alfredo Di Stefano Soccer Player Born In Argentina#17 About Forward who excelled with Real Madrid, leading the club to five straight European Cup wins from 1956 to 1960 and scoring 216 goals during his 11 years with the club. Before Fame He incurred a great deal of controversy when he transferred from Argentina to Spain, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid trying to secure him. Trivia He played for Colombia, Argentina, and Spain in international matches. Family Life His grandfather on his father's side was a French immigrant to Argentina, and his mother had a French and Irish background.

Alfredo Di Stéfano dies at the age of 88 | Football | The Guardian Alfredo Di Stéfano dies at the age of 88 • Real Madrid legend had been taken ill on Saturday • Argentina-born forward won five straight European Cups Alfredo Di Stéfano poses in 1961 with Real Madrid's five successive European Cups Photograph: Don Balon/Press Association Images Guardian staff and agencies Monday 7 July 2014 11.30 EDT Last modified on Monday 4 April 2016 11.06 EDT Close This article is 2 years old Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton have paid tribute to Alfredo Di Stéfano, probably the greatest player in Real Madrid’s history, who died on Monday at the age of 88. Ferguson described Di Stéfano as one of the greatest players of all time. “The great question that always comes up is who are the greatest players,” the former Manchester United manager told Sky Sports News.

“There is a list of great ones like Cruyff, Maradona and Pelé and of course Puskas and Di Stéfano – I thought he was one of the greatest in my mind. “He had a fantastic balance and poise. If you look at one of the goals he scored in the final against Eintracht Frankfurt it was completely what we are saying about the balance and poise, unbelievable he was. “I was very sad to hear the news. Even at 88 it is a bit of a shock. I saw him two years ago before our Real Madrid game and he looked fine and looked full of health so it is disappointing to hear the news.” Charlton praised the footballing brain of Di Stéfano. “I was deeply saddened to hear the news of Alfredo Di Stéfano’s passing,” England’s record goalscorer said. “As one of the stars of the legendary Real Madrid team, I think Alfredo was one of the best players I ever came across and an extremely intelligent footballer. “He was somebody I really respected, having watched him from the stands at the Bernabéu and then played against him.

I have many fond memories of my time with Alfredo and feel privileged to be able to call him a good friend. The footballing world has lost a great player and a great man. “I’d like to send my condolences on behalf of everybody at Manchester United to his family and our friends at Real Madrid.” The Spanish football federation called Di Stéfano an “unforgettable player” in the country’s football history. “He was truly one of a kind on the pitch as well as off it, for his way of understanding life and the wisdom that he generously spread wherever he went,” it said. Sepp Blatter described Di Stéfano as one of the greatest players to grace a pitch. The Fifa’s president tweeted: “Sad to learn of Di Stéfano’s passing, the most complete player I’ve seen. My favourite player. A legend is gone. RIP.” Real said in a statement: “The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, and the club board would like to express its deepest condolences and all their love and affection to their children, their families and friends.

Real Madrid extends condolences to those Madridistas around the world and those who feel emotion at the loss of the best player of all time.” The former Argentina, Colombia and Spain international suffered a cardiac arrest in the street near Real’s Bernabéu stadium on Saturday – the day after his birthday – and had been in an induced coma in intensive care. Di Stéfano was attended to by emergency medical services before being transferred to hospital. The cardiac arrest lasted 18 minutes, according to the emergency services. Di Stéfano has had several health scares in recent years and underwent a quadruple aorta-coronary bypass with a pacemaker implanted in December 2005 after suffering a myocardial infarction. After joining Real in 1953, he helped turn them into one of the world’s leading sides, winning five straight European Cups and scoring in each final between 1956 and 1960. The Argentina-born forward also won eight Spanish league titles and was voted the European player of the year in 1957 and 1959.

He left Real in 1964 at the age of 38 having scored more than 300 goals across 11 seasons. Di Stéfano played at international level for three countries but never appeared at the World Cup. He won six caps for Argentina and played four times for Colombia during a spell in that country’s league. However, his Colombia caps are not recognised by Fifa. Fifa said in 1954 he could not play for Spain but reversed that decision in 1957 after he gained citizenship and he went on to win 31 caps, scoring 23 goals. Louise Taylor: The former Real Madrid forward, who has died aged 88, set a formidable path for others to follow Published: 7 Jul 2014 Alfredo Di Stéfano won five European Cups from 1956-1960, scoring in each final. He also played for three international teams - Argentina, Colombia and Spain.

Here are some of the highlights of his career in pictures Published: 7 Jul 2014 Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid's 'Blonde Arrow' Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid's 'Blonde Arrow' Share View photos A file picture taken on May 9, 2006 shows Real Madrid's legend and Honor President Alfredo Di Stefano looking on before a friendly football match between Real Madrid and Stade Reims at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid (AFP Photo/Javier Soriano) More Madrid (AFP) - Alfredo Di Stefano, who died Monday at the age of 88, was one of the greatest footballers ever to grace the earth, held in the same esteemed regard as Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff, and will forever be known as the "Blonde Arrow" of the all-conquering Real Madrid sides of the 1950s and 1960s. Di Stefano died in Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital where he had lain in a coma after suffering a heart attack.

He was struck down after having lunch at a restaurant with his family on Saturday, not far from his beloved club's Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Di Stefano had been hospitalised seven times for similar episodes, and underwent emergency quadruple heart by-pass surgery after suffering a major heart attack in 2005 just after the death of his wife Sara. A complete player capable of disorienting dribbles, pinpoint passes and a lethal threat in front of goal, Di Stefano combined exquisite technical ability with tactical nous and an irrepressible spirit. Born in 1926 in Buenos Aires to a modest family, Di Stefano joined River Plate, one of Argentina's most storied clubs, as a teenager. He made his debut for them in 1945 at the age of 19 against Huracan, the outfit with whom he would spend the following season on loan before returning to his parent club. Upon his return Di Stefano would form part of a much-vaunted attacking trio alongside Jose Manuel Moreno and Angel Labruna.

- Short-lived Argentina career - 1947 was a pivotal year for Di Stefano as he helped River Plate to the league title before netting six goals in his country's triumphant Copa America campaign, which would mark both the beginning and end of his short-lived Argentina career. A player strike prompted the Argentine championship to grind to a halt the following season, resulting in a mass player exodus that saw Di Stefano pack his bags and head for Colombia's Millonarios. He won the Colombian title in his first season before adding the 1951 and 1952 titles to his list of honours and his individual displays prompted a host of big-name European suitors to come calling. After a long, complicated transfer wrangle with bitter rivals Barcelona, it was ultimately Real Madrid, thanks in large part to then president Santiago Bernabeu, who won the race for Di Stefano's signature. Di Stefano immediately flourished in the Spanish capital as he helped Madrid end a 21-year wait for the league title in his first season before collecting a further seven league crowns during his time at the club, during which he formed formidable partnerships with the likes of Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento and Raymond Kopa.

However, it was on the European stage that Di Stefano truly cemented his status as one of the game's greats, helping Real win the first five editions of the European Cup between 1956 and 1960, a record that stands to this day. He was also a two-time European Football of the Year in 1957 and 1959, but despite all the accolades a World Cup finals appearance was to elude him. Argentina didn't participate at either the 1950 or 1954 finals and having attained Spanish citizenship in 1956 Di Stefano then missed out on the 1958 finals as Spain failed to qualify. La Roja reached the 1962 tournament in Chile but injury prevented Di Stefano, then aged 35, from taking part despite travelling with the team. - Global Fame - His global fame would serve to his detriment while on a pre-season tour to South America in 1963 as he was kidnapped in Caracas by a Venezuelan revolutionary group, seeking to divert attention towards their cause, before being released unharmed two days later.

He left Real after the 1964 season and would finish his playing days at Espanyol two years later before turning his focus to coaching. He started in the dugout of modest Spanish side Elche in 1967 prior to spells at Boca Juniors, Valencia, River Plate and Real Madrid among others before calling time on his managerial career in 1991. Di Stefano was named Real Madrid's honorary president in 2000 and the club has since named its reserve team's home ground in his honour. A father of six children he was predeceased by his wife Sara who died in 2005. His daughter Nanette Norma passed away in 2012. Reblog Alfredo Di Stefano - Bio, Family, Facts, Age: 88 | Hot Birthdays Alfredo Di Stefano Album2 Pictures About Forward who excelled with Real Madrid, leading the club to five straight European Cup wins from 1956 to 1960 and scoring 216 goals during his 11 years with the club. He played for Colombia, Argentina, and Spain in international matches.

He and Raul Gonzalez both scored over 200 goals during their careers with Real Madrid. Before fame He incurred a great deal of controversy when he transferred from Argentina to Spain, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid trying to secure him. Related to His grandfather on his father's side was a French immigrant to Argentina, and his mother had a French and Irish background. The meaning of the name Stefano: Crown Soccer Player Alfredo Di Stefano born on 04 07 1926 in . Until now, Alfredo Di Stefano's age is 88 year old and have Cancer constellation. Count down 350 days will come next birthday of Alfredo Di Stefano ! Di Stéfano, the man who dazzled Europe - UEFA.com Di Stéfano, the man who dazzled Europe Published: Wednesday 19 January 2011, 12.55CET Argentinian-born attacker Alfredo Di Stéfano was the brightest star in the Real Madrid CF team that reigned supreme in the late 1950s.

by Luis Arnáiz Alfredo di Stéfano scores in the 1960 European Cup final ©Getty Images UEFA.com features Published: Wednesday 19 January 2011, 12.55CET Di Stéfano, the man who dazzled Europe Argentinian-born attacker Alfredo Di Stéfano was the brightest star in the Real Madrid CF team that reigned supreme in the late 1950s. Read more To help mark UEFA's Jubilee in 2004, each national association was asked to nominate its most outstanding player of the past 50 years. Spain chose Alfredo Di Stéfano as their Golden Player. Alfredo Di Stéfano was the original 'total footballer' and the greatest player of his era, his superb skills, incredible goals and remarkable selflessness proving key factors in Real Madrid CF's golden years of the 1950s and 1960s. The Argentinian-born Spanish international was an inspirational figure as Madrid emerged as Europe's top club and won eight league titles in Spain.

Di Stéfano played and scored in the first five European Champion Clubs' Cup finals as the Merengues dominated the competition's formative years. Di Stéfano was born on 4 July 1926 in the Barracas district of Buenos Aires. He was the oldest of three brothers from a family of farmers and, by the age of 13, had joined CA River Plate's youth team. Years later his first coach, Carlos Peucelle, recalled: "I had never seen a player with such physical strength and determination. No one improved as quickly." Determination was a constant theme throughout Di Stéfano's life. After he was kept out of the River first team by Adolfo Pedernera, Di Stéfano's father insisted his son should be given the chance to display his talent. The result was a loan to CA Huracán, where Di Stéfano excelled in 1946. The following season he was back at River and, following the sale of Pedernera, became part of a famous forward line alongside Juan Carlos Muñoz, José Manual Moreno, Ángel Labruna and Félix Loustau.

Alternatively nicknamed 'The German' – because of his blond hair – and 'The Blond Arrow', Di Stéfano introduced the back-heel to a wide audience, and such invention prompted one of the forward's idols, the aforementioned Moreno, to tell him: "You'll be great one day, son, but don't expect it to be easy." In Di Stéfano's last game for River Plate he scored twice against CA San Lorenzo de Almagro and departed with the fans' chants ringing in his ears. A strike among Argentinian players took him to Columbia's CD Millonarios Bogotá, where his artistic skills soon earned him a new nickname, 'The Blue Dancer'. In 1952, he played in Real Madrid's old Chamartín Stadium in a match organised to celebrate the club's 50th anniversary and, with his talents immediately apparent, enchanted the Madrid crowd. On 26 September 1953, after a legal dispute with FC Barcelona who also claimed his services, Di Stéfano signed for Madrid, with the Catalan club rejecting a proposal that would have seen Di Stéfano spending half the season with each club.

As a result, Barça saw their long period of dominance come to an end, with Di Stéfano helping Madrid become practically unbeatable. They won the league in his first season and added seven more titles between 1955 and 1964, completing a domestic double in 1961/62. Madrid's crowning glories, however, came in continental competition as the club claimed the first five editions of the European Cup in spectacular fashion. Di Stéfano scored in all five finals, most famously a hat-trick in the 7-3 success against Eintracht Frankfurt in May 1960. Di Stéfano was granted Spanish nationality in 1956 and played 31 times for his adopted country, scoring 23 goals. He may have been an introvert, but even alongside arguably more technically-gifted players such as Raymond Kopa and Ferenc Puskás, Di Stéfano was the star that shone brightest in Madrid's galaxy of superstars.

Di Stéfano, who later led Valencia CF to the Spanish title and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as a coach, became Madrid's honorary president in 2000 and in 2008 received the first UEFA President's Award from Michel Platini. "A great among greats," is how Platini described Di Stéfano as he presented him with the honour and thanked him for bringing "the rhythm of the Argentine tango to European football". Recalling watching black-and-white images of Di Stéfano's golden years, the UEFA President added: "Alfredo Di Stéfano, you personified the best of world football over two decades – a god of the stadium, a magician of the ball, a perfect football master. You invented modern football on our TV screens." Last updated: 19 January 2011 ©UEFA.com 1998-2017. All rights reserved.

Last updated: 22/02/11 11.16CET Alfredo Di Stéfano obituary | Football | The Guardian Real Madrid Alfredo Di Stéfano obituary Centre-forward of the all-conquering Real Madrid football team of the 1950s, which won five European Cups in a row Alfredo Di Stéfano, left, playing for Real Madrid at the Bernabéu stadium in 1962. Photograph: EPA Monday 7 July 2014 12.41 EDT First published on Monday 7 July 2014 12.41 EDT Share on Messenger Close Alfredo Di Stéfano, who has died aged 88, was the inspirational leader of the Real Madrid team of the 1950s, one of the best, and certainly one of the most successful, club sides of all time. It won five European Cups in a row, starting with the inaugural tournament in 1956.

He was a centre-forward of versatility and authority: his greatness lay not only in his prolific goalscoring, but in his ability to influence play in all areas of the pitch in an era when players stuck to their positions and were relatively static. His stamina was legendary and even in his veteran years he could bring off a sliding tackle in his own penalty area, then in the next minute pop up at the other end for a shot at goal. This individual brilliance, combined with an imperious air, enabled him to orchestrate a team to play to his command. The young Bobby Charlton watched Di Stéfano from the stands as a Manchester United reserve at Real's Bernabéu stadium in 1957, and later wrote that his first impression was: "Who is this man? He takes the ball from the goalkeeper, he tells the full-backs what to do; wherever he is on the field he is in position to take the ball, you can see his influence on everything that is happening … I had never seen such a complete footballer … It was as though he had set up his own command centre at the heart of the game. He was as strong as he was subtle.

You just could not keep your eyes off him." Di Stéfano was not as naturally gifted as Pelé or Diego Maradona , but Charlton is one of many former players and managers who regarded him as the best all-round footballer in the history of the game. Over a 20-year period, Di Stéfano was the guiding light of three teams in three countries: at River Plate, briefly, in his native Argentina; at Millonarios of Bogotá in Colombia; and then, most famously, with Real Madrid in his adopted Spain. Extraordinarily, he also represented all three of those countries, but despite his dominance at club level, Di Stéfano never played in the World Cup finals. Alfredo Di Stéfano in 2006. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images Di Stéfano was born in Buenos Aires, the grandson of immigrants from Capri and son of Alfredo Sr, also a footballer who had played for the Buenos Aires club River Plate , and his wife Eulalia, who was of French and Irish origin.

He grew up and learned to play football in the streets of the working-class suburb of Barracas and later, after his father had retired from the game, on a farm on the edge of the city. Curiously he was still in River Plate's third team at the age of 19, as an outside-right, and after quarrelling with the club over money he was loaned to the neighbouring Club Atlético Huracán. But River Plate soon took him back and he became a star, winning the Argentinian championship as top scorer in 1947, and nicknamed the Blond Arrow for his explosive speed. The same year he helped Argentina win the 1947 South American championship, scoring six goals in six matches – his only appearances for his native country. In 1949, a footballers' strike in Argentina prompted Di Stéfano and many other Argentinian players to defect to a breakaway Colombian league that was outside the remit of Fifa and therefore not obliged to pay transfer fees, but able to pay big wages to some of the world's best players.

Along with two other Argentinians, the legendary striker Adolfo Pedernera and defender Néstor Rossi, he joined Millonarios. There he won three league championships in four years and, despite the dubious status of the Colombian set-up, the team was considered one of the best in the world. "We succeeded in building a team so strong and so homogeneous," Di Stéfano said, "that it was hard to find another like it." But Millonarios's bubble burst in 1953 when Colombia rejoined Fifa and Di Stéfano suddenly found himself without a club, and with heavy losses when he had to sell his property in Bogotá. On Millonarios's final tour of Europe, Di Stéfano ran rings around the Real Madrid defence, and the Spanish club coveted him from that moment. His move to Spain was one of the most acrimonious and bizarre transfer deals in football history. Real wanted him and agreed a fee with Millonarios, but so did their bitter rivals Barcelona , who tried to outflank Madrid by agreeing a transfer with his former club River Plate, who still held Di Stéfano's official registration, claiming his move to Colombia had been illegal.

He eventually signed for Barcelona but the Spanish football federation failed to recognise the transfer and, in a Solomonic judgment, decreed that the two clubs share him and he play alternate seasons for each. Crucially, however – and the Catalan club claimed, with Francoist backing – the federation gave Real first bite. When Di Stéfano started his first season slowly, Barcelona were persuaded to sell their rights to the player – a decision they would regret. Four days later he scored a hat-trick against Barcelona, and that was just the start. In just 30 games that 1953-54 season he scored 27 goals, leading Real to the Spanish championship for the first time in 21 years and sparking an unprecedented era of domestic and European domination. In 11 seasons at Real he won eight Spanish titles (he scored 218 goals in 282 games and was the league's top scorer in four seasons straight); five consecutive European Cups (scoring in all five finals); the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 1960, played between the European and South American champions; and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959.

Real's apotheosis was the 7-3 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup final held at Hampden Park, Glasgow. In the autumn of his career he struck up a famous partnership with another great striker of the 1950s, the Hungarian Ferenc Puskás . Both were then in their mid-30s, Di Stéfano balding and Puskás with a pot belly, but that evening more than 125,000 Scottish fans were held spellbound by their sublime, almost exotic skill in what is still regarded as one of the greatest games ever. Di Stéfano scored three goals and Puskás four. Di Stéfano scored 49 goals in 58 European Cup ties, a remarkable feat, while the sheer elan of the Real Madrid side quickly established the cup as the world's greatest club competition. Yet despite the dominance of both the player and Spanish clubs in European competitions, neither he nor Spain fared as well at international level. Despite playing for Argentina, Spain and Colombia, Alfredo Di Stéfano, pictured in 1956, never appeared in the World Cup finals.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images While he was still eligible to play for Argentina, their football federation withdrew from the 1950 and 1954 World Cups. In 1949, at Millonarios, he played four games for Colombia , though they were not recognised by Fifa. He took Spanish nationality in 1956, but his adopted country failed to qualify for the 1958 World Cup, and after helping them reach the finals in Chile four years later, at the age of 35, he was injured and did not play in the tournament, or again for Spain. He never exerted quite the same influence or elicited the same success for Spain as with Real. Perhaps this was because he could not aspire to running the show, as he did with Real, when there was the twin presence of the powerful Barcelona midfielder Luis Suárez Miramontes and his mentor Helenio Herrera, the national team's flamboyant but defence-minded manager, a fellow Argentinian whom Di Stéfano could not abide.

But "Don Alfredo" never did share his podium willingly with anybody, as the brilliant Brazilian inside-forward Didi and the Swedish international centre-forward, Agne Simonsson, found when they joined Real Madrid after the 1958 World Cup, in which both had flourished. Di Stéfano practically refused to pass the ball to them and Didi would later complain that his time at Real Madrid was the worst of his career. Even Puskás, a dominating figure himself, the captain and star of the dazzling Hungary team of the early 1950s, had to compromise and found his modus vivendi with Di Stéfano when, level on goals with him in the last league match of a Spanish season, he passed to let Di Stéfano score, rather than score himself. On leaving Madrid in 1964, aged 38, Di Stéfano finally went to play in Barcelona, but for the city's "other" team, the royalist Real Club Deportivo Espanyol rather than Barça, one final rebuff for the fiercely partisan Catalan club.

Di Stéfano was a de facto coach on the pitch, so when he retired from playing, aged almost 40, moving into management was a natural progression. He managed eight clubs in almost 25 years (three of them on more than one occasion), guiding Boca Juniors and River Plate to Argentinian league titles, and Valencia to the European Cup Winners' Cup and Spanish title. He returned to his beloved Real Madrid in 1982 but that season ended in despondency when the team finished runners-up in five competitions: the Spanish league, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Supercup, the Copa de la Liga and to underdogs Aberdeen in the European Cup Winners' Cup final. However, despite his success as a coach, as with many great former players turned managers he felt like an impotent bystander on the touchline, once commenting that, "Apart from [the compensation of] working with the young," he said, "it's the most horrible profession that could exist." In 2000 he was made honorary life president of Real Madrid, and in 2006 the club named a stadium at its new training facilities after him.

His wife Sara died in 2005; they had six children. • Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Lauhlé, football player and manager, born 4 July 1926; died 7 July 2014 Alfredo di Stefano - Player Profile and Career History - Biography - Alfredo di Stéfano was the driving force behind Real Madrid's domination of the European Cup in the late 1950's. Real won the trophy five times in a row, with the Saeta rubia (blonde arrow), as the Argentinean was called because of his speed, scoring in each of the finals. Di Stefano was an incredibly versatile forward, who combined speed with a superb technique, stamina, tactical insight, and an ability to score goals. It is not surprising then that many believe him to be the best all-round player in history, if indeed not the best player out right. Di Stefano got his start at River Plate, the club his father had played for, but competition from a very successful established attacking line-up meant that he played his first full season in 1946 on loan at Huracán.

Legend has it that his first match for the club was against his employers, River Plate, and that Di Stefano scored within seconds of the start of the game. Next season room was found in the team for the young forward at River Plate. Di Stefano did not disappoint, producing 27 goals in 30 matches and finishing top scorer as River won the league. It earned him a place in the Argentinean squad for the 1947 Copa America. Di Stefano went as a reserve, but injuries saw him make the team and again he did not disappoint those that had placed trust in him. He scored six goals in six matches as Argentina won the tournament. Millonarios Bogota In 1949 Argentina found itself in the grips of a general strike that also paralysed professional football. The clubs responded by finishing the season with amateur replacements. Many professionals sought refuge in foreign leagues. Di Stefano was persuaded to uproot to Colombia, where a wild league was being played ever since the country's FA had cut it's ties with FIFA. He signed with the suggestively named Millonarios Bogota.

The Argentinean would stay in Bogota for three and a half seasons, winning three titles and topping the Colombian top scorers list twice. In 1952, as part of a World tour, Millonarios appeared in a tournament that Real Madrid were hosting to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Millonarios, a force to be reckoned with in those day, won the tournament and Di Stefano attracted the attention of Spanish scouts. Alfredo di Stefano in action during the final of the 1956 European Cup It soon became clear that Di Stefano's future would lie in Spain, with Barcelona seemingly on their way to signing the South American star. But Di Stefano's arrival in the country in May of 1943 proved to be the start of an unparalleled farce that ended in him joining Real Madrid. Barcelona followers have since been convinced that their club missing out on what would turn out to be one of the greatest players in the history of European club football was the result of the backstage shenanigans of the hated Franco regime. In fact Barcelona had made a complete mess of the transfer talks with Millonarios all by themselves, and ended up signing a transfer agreement only with River Plate.

Turning to a club the player hadn't played for in almost four years wasn't as strange as it seemed. Because of the curious circumstances of Di Stefano's move to Colombia no transfer fee had changed hands and River Plate were within their rights to claim that it was they who still held the transfer rights to the player. However, by leaving out Millonarios from the deal it seemed as if Barcelona were poaching Di Stefano from the Colombians, who's FA had by that time rejoined FIFA and who were quite willing to share the transfer fee with River Plate. Consequently, the Spanish FA decided not to approve the transfer. In the commotion that ensued, Real Madrid chairman Santiago Bernabéu was able to interest Di Stefano in signing for his club instead and concluded a transfer agreement with Millonarios. Now both clubs could claim to have bought Di Stefano. More than three months after the Argentinean's arrival in the country, the Spanish FA Solomonically decided that the clubs would just have to share the player. Di Stefano would play the 1943-1944 season for Real, and then switch to Barcelona for the next season.

The clubs reluctantly agreed and in september 1943 Di Stefano made his debut in the Spanish league. When the deal became known in Catalonia, an uproar ensued that ended in the Barcelona board resigning their positions. The interim board decided that is was best to just forget about Di Stefano and sold their share of his transfer rights to Real. Their decision might have been influenced by the fact that Di Stefano, who had hardly played a match in months, had not been all that impressive for Real Madrid yet. They might have scratched their heads when the Argentinean striker scored a hat-trick against Barcelona only days after the deal was penned. Di Stefano tries to backheel the ball past Man United goalie Harry Gregg Real Madrid Now how pleased the 27-year old Di Stefano should actually have been with ending up playing for Real instead of Barcelona, remained very much up for question. Barcelona had won the Spanish league four times in the previous six years, whereas Real Madrid hadn't been able to manage winning the title for no less than twenty years. But Real's fortunes took a sharp turn for the better with the arrival of Alfredo di Stefano.

They hit the jackpot in his very first season, winning the league for the first time since 1933, with their South American striker topping the Spanish top scorers list. It would prove the start of a Golden Age unparalleled in football history. During Di Stefano's eleven years in Madrid, the club won the league eight times. As if that weren't enough, they also won the first five editions of the European Cup, from 1956 to 1969, the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 1960, and a Spanish cup in 1962. Di Stefano topped the top scorers list on five occasions during his years in Spain, and scored a goal in every one of Real's five European Cup finals. That Real Madrid's renaissance started when Di Stefano arrived at the club was no coincidence. The Real of the late fifties harboured more stars, like Gento, Kopa and Puskas, but none had the impact of Di Stefano. He was much more than just a goal getter. Far from content to spend is time poaching goals, he would often drop back to direct play or help defend.

However thanks to his speed and incredible stamina he could always be counted on the make it back up front when it mattered. His approach to his role was revolutionary. He may well have been the first ever striker to actively defend when the opposition were in possession. It spoke volumes of his firm conviction that football was a team sport and no-one should imagine himself greater than the team. The flip-side of his willingness to subjugate himself to the team interest was the fact that he expected his team mates to show the same effort and desire to win that he exhibited. It is telling that in an interview a few years ago, Di Stefano spoke of his irritation at the habit in today's football of thanking a fellow player with applause or a little gesture for passing the ball, even if the pass proves to be inaccurate. In the days of the great Real Madrid a player who botched up an important pass would have gotten an earful instead receiving thanks. The bar can never be raised too high. Alfredo di Stefano poses with the five European Cups he helped Real win Spain Alfredo di Stefano was voted European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959.

He qualified for that title thanks to his having applied for, and subsequently received, Spanish citizenship in 1956, after Real had requested him to do so in order to enable them to field an extra foreign player. As a result Alfredo di Stefano could now represent Spain at the international level. Although Di Stefano had already turned thirty, it was an gift the national manager of Spain was not going to turn down. Di Stefano received his passport in october of 1956 and made his debut for Spain in January of 1957, promptly producing a hat-trick against the Netherlands. Promising as the start may have been, Di Stefano's international career for Spain would ultimately be a very disappointing one. He scored 23 goals in 31 matched, but never made it to an international tournament with his adopted country. Spain failed to make it to the 1958 World Cup, finishing second in their qualifying group behind Scotland. In 1960 the Franco regime forbade the team from playing against the Soviet Union, which meant the Spanish were forced to bow out of the inaugural European Championship.

And when Spain did manage to qualify for a tournament, the 1962 World Cup, Di Stefano had to pull out with an injury, leaving him with the distinctly unenviable honour of competing with George Best for the title of best footballer never to have played a World Cup. In 1964 Alfredo di Stefano left Madrid and finally ended up playing his football in Barcelona, albeit at Espanyol. He would play for two more seasons before retiring at the age of 40. After hanging up his boots, Di Stefano embarked on a managerial career that would see him coach such clubs as Boca Juniors, Valencia, Sporting Lisbon, Rayo Vallecano, River Plate and Real Madrid. He was more successful at it than most, winning the European Cup Winners Cup and the Spanish league with Valencia, and the Argentinean League with Boca and River, but reproducing his successes as a player was a task Di Stefano was never going to manage. RIP Di Stï¿œfano - MARCA.com (English version) Zoom in Alfredo di Stï¿œfano died on Monday afternoon at Madrid's Gregorio Maraï¿œï¿œn Hospital.

Real Madrid's honorary president, 88, had been fighting for his life since suffering a heart attack while walking down a street near the Santiago Bernabï¿œu on Saturday. The whole of the football world and particularly 'Los Blancos' fans will mourn the passing of the most important player in Real's history and one of the greatest ever to play the game. Born in Buenos Aires, Di Stefano started his career with River Plate then left for Millionarios in Colombia. Alfredo di Stefano's achievements helped turn Real Madrid, the club he joined in 1953, into one of the world's leading sides. Di Stefano, who played at international level for Colombia, Argentina and Spain, helped Real Madrid to five straight European Cup triumphs, scoring in each of the winning finals between 1956 and 1960. The Argentina-born forward also won eight Spanish league titles at Real and was voted European player of the year in 1957 and 1959. He left Real in 1964 having scored more than 400 goals across 11 seasons.

He coached Real from 1982 to 1984, without much success, and he became honorary president of the club in 2000. Di Stefano played at international level for three nations but never appeared at the World Cup. He won six caps for home country Argentina and played four times for Colombia during a spell in the country's league. However his Colombia caps are not officially recognised by Fifa. Fifa said in 1954 he could not play for Spain, but reversed that decision in 1957 after he won citizenship and he went on to win 31 caps, scoring 23 goals.

Di Stefano's honours: - Five European Cups (Real Madrid, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960) - One Intercontinental Cup (Real Madrid, 1960) - One America cup (River Plate, 1947) - Eight Spanish league titles (Real Madrid, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964) - One Spanish Cup (Real Madrid, 1962) - Two Argentine league titles titles (River Plate, 1945, 1947) - Four Colombian league titles (Millonarios Bogotï¿œ, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953) 0

Question: Alfredo di Stefano, of Real Madrid fame was born in which country?
Answer: ARGENTINA